History of Toys
Most young mammals play, and will play with whatever they can find, turning such things as pinecones or rocks into toys. It simply makes sense then that toys have a history as old as human civilization itself. Toys and games have been unearthed from the sites of ancient civilizations. They have been written about in some of our oldest literature. Toys excavated from the Indus valley civilization (3000-1500 BCE) include small carts, whistles shaped like birds, and toy monkeys which could slide down a string.
The earliest toys were made from materials found in nature, such as rocks, sticks, and clay. Dolls are some of the oldest types of toy[citation needed]. Thousands of years ago, Egyptian children played with dolls with wigs and movable limbs which were made from stone, pottery, and wood. In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, children played with dolls made of wax or terra cotta, sticks, bows and arrows, and yo-yos. When Greek children came of age it was customary for them to sacrifice the toys of their childhood to the gods.
As technology changed and civilization progressed to what it is today, toys also changed. Whereas ancient toys were made from materials found in nature like stone, wood, and grass modern toys are often made from plastic, cloth, and synthentic materials. Ancient toys were often made by the parents and family of the children who used them, or by the children themselves, nowadays modern toys are often mass-produced and sold in stores.
One example of this change in the nature of toys is embodied by the changes that have taken place in one of the oldest and most universal of human toys; dolls. The earliest dolls were simple wooden carvings and bundles of grass; Egyptian dolls were sometimes jointed so that their limbs could move realistically; dolls that could say "mama" were around in the early 1800s; and today there are dolls that can recognize and identify objects, the voice of their owner, and choose among hundreds of pre-programed phrases with which to respond. The materials that toys are made from have changed, what toys can do has changed, but the fact that children play with toys has not changed.
The earliest toys were made from materials found in nature, such as rocks, sticks, and clay. Dolls are some of the oldest types of toy[citation needed]. Thousands of years ago, Egyptian children played with dolls with wigs and movable limbs which were made from stone, pottery, and wood. In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, children played with dolls made of wax or terra cotta, sticks, bows and arrows, and yo-yos. When Greek children came of age it was customary for them to sacrifice the toys of their childhood to the gods.
As technology changed and civilization progressed to what it is today, toys also changed. Whereas ancient toys were made from materials found in nature like stone, wood, and grass modern toys are often made from plastic, cloth, and synthentic materials. Ancient toys were often made by the parents and family of the children who used them, or by the children themselves, nowadays modern toys are often mass-produced and sold in stores.
One example of this change in the nature of toys is embodied by the changes that have taken place in one of the oldest and most universal of human toys; dolls. The earliest dolls were simple wooden carvings and bundles of grass; Egyptian dolls were sometimes jointed so that their limbs could move realistically; dolls that could say "mama" were around in the early 1800s; and today there are dolls that can recognize and identify objects, the voice of their owner, and choose among hundreds of pre-programed phrases with which to respond. The materials that toys are made from have changed, what toys can do has changed, but the fact that children play with toys has not changed.
posted by blogsurfer at 7:59 AM
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